“Delight yourself in the Lord"

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 ESV)

On its face, this is a confusing verse. I say this because your interpretation of this verse will vary depending on who has provided the exposition of this psalm for you. It's crucial to develop a discerning spirit, as false teachers often twist this verse. Conversely, Pastors who preach Christ and Him crucified will teach this verse entirely differently.

What we must remember is that false teachers are demonically controlled. They twist scripture to suit the message they want to use to fool the unwitting. We know that Satan knows scripture and twists it to suit his needs.

This verse is used by those who preach the heretical prosperity gospel. The typical message accompanying this verse is, “If you tithe enough and have enough faith, God will give you all the desires of your heart.” A car for you, and you, and all you need to do is give us your money, have enough faith, and you can speak these things into existence. If it did not materialize, you did not have enough faith. The same goes for promotions, healing, houses, and so on.

The worldly desires of our hearts are inherently evil. So, someone who promises to give us the desires of our hearts sounds a lot more like Satan than God. However, the psalmist is not writing about worldly things.

Delight yourself in the Lord. Delighting in the Lord means more than just enjoying His presence. It means seeing God's eternal beauty, unchanging nature, pure goodness and love. It means being satisfied with the knowledge that God provides all that we will ever need in this world. It is the overwhelming joy of the gift of eternal life that God has placed on the table for all those who place their faith in the Son of God, Christ Jesus. It is finding our ultimate pleasure and satisfaction in God, above all else.

Christ came not to fulfill our hearts' desires but to reorient them. His transformative power is immense. Jesus came to remove us from the world, not to give us the idols of the world. In the Gospel of John, Jesus, speaking of those he had called, said, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (17:16) He came to change us, and when you meet Him, you cannot help but be changed. Ezekiel spoke these words God had given him to prophesy to Israel, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (36:26-27)

So then, of what desires of the heart is the psalmist speaking? The desires the psalmist speaks of are the desires of the saints. We delight in the Lord, when we accept Christ as our Savior, when we are driven to live a holy life, when we strive to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and when we desire to see the kingdom of God in our eternal life, it is these desires of the heart God will give us. It is the desire to be a useful servant of God. The desire to be pleasing to God and glorify Him in all things. It is the desire for spiritual growth, wisdom, understanding, patience, love, peace, joy, self-control, faithfulness, humility, forgiveness, compassion, righteousness, and the salvation of others. It is these desires God will give us.

Jesus Christ came and freely gave His life in exchange for all sinners who would place their faith in Him. He did not do this so you could have "your best life now," "live an abundant life," or receive all the earthly desires of your heart. He died so that by your faith in Him, you could be made righteous before God. So that you could be rejoined in a relationship with God. But most importantly, He died, and you were saved so that you could glorify God. Your delight, your satisfaction in God for who God is, His grace, His mercy, His love, His justice, His holiness, and His power. When we are most satisfied in God, He is most glorified. God most assuredly deserves to be glorified every nanosecond of every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year for as long as you live.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” He really will. This is a promise we can hold onto, a reassurance that God's fulfillment is certain.

Grace and Peace